As the requirements for power semiconductor applications have increased, integrated circuit (IC) technology has been developed that integrates DMOS devices with high performance Bi-polar CMOS components. These integrated components, known in the industry as BCD or BCDMOS devices, can be formed using an integrated BCD (Bi-polar-CMOS-DMOS) process, and can include one or more transistors, such as a number of high-voltage transistors on the same chip as low-voltage circuitry. These BCD devices can provide increased control and efficiency for many power IC applications. For instance, advanced BCDMOS processes can be used to optimize aspects of integrated circuits used in such devices as cameras, printers, projectors and DVD drives. In power IC applications where a number of discrete components were previously required, many of those discrete components can be replaced with a single, highly integrated BCDMOS device. In addition to improved performance, such a solution comes with added benefits such as a significant reduction in component and assembly costs.
While these BCD devices have had a marked effect on power IC applications, ever-increasing demands push chip manufacturers to further improve efficiency and performance. It is therefore desirable to improve upon existing BCD processes in devices in order to meet these demands.